In the field of hand-held implements, and particularly of sporting implements such as tennis rackets or golf clubs, frequently it is desired to position a friction surface on the handle portion to facilitate retention of the implement upon grasping it with the hand. Thus, for example, in addition to those instances where it is desired to apply a new surface to a handle, when the surface covering on the handle of a tennis racquet or a golf club handle wears out, or becomes hardened with use or through exposure to the elements and/or the perspiring hand of a user, it may be desired to install a new covering which is relatively resilient and has acceptable friction properties, so that the racquet will not fly out of the user's hand as it is swung.
Heretofore, there has been no truly satisfactory, inexpensive and simple means available for achieving such re-surfacing of such handles. For example, relatively complex procedures of wrapping such a handle with covering material have usually been resorted to with such techniques, special skills, and in some instances special equipment frequently have had to be used to ensure appropriate tension, "lay", etc. of the handle covering material as it is finally positioned on the handle. In attempts to overcome the drawbacks of such techniques, there have been proposals for other solutions, but even these have not found widespread acceptance, perhaps because most have involved special application equipment and/or techniques requiring comparatively high skills levels in order to produce satisfactory results. In this connection reference is made to the following U.S. Pat. Nos: Hall 2,038,840; Hamel 1,669,053; and Armstrong 1,448,901.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a means for covering the handle portion of hand-held implements.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a means which is easy to install.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide such a means which is comparatively inexpensive.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a method for producing means which will achieve the foregoing objectives.
Another object of this invention is to provide means for containing and dispensing such re-covering means which is inexpensive and easily utilized by the user.
Another object of this invention is to provide such means, and means for containing and dispensing same, which are susceptible and accurate use by persons utilizing same.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a means for preparing covering materials into a form suitable to attain the aforesaid objects.
Another object of this invention is to provide apparatus for preparing covering materials useful in carrying out the aforesaid objects.